Self-furring corner lath



July 2l, 1953 R. F. s'rocKToN SELF-FURRING CORNER LATH Filed July 26, 1948 JNVENToR, ,Qns/HOND E SrKro/v. BY

Lwlia- VUBNEVS Patented July 21, 1953 Y Raymond F. Stockton, Sunland,'Calif., assignor v i yto* Ray F. Stockton Wire Products Co. Inc.,

Burbank, Calit, a corporation of California Application July 2s, 194s, serial Nb. 40,7115

` 1 claim.y (ci. vae-121) This invention relates to self-furring-plaster1 reenforcing Wire and the method o f vmaking the same and is copending with and may be consid-v ered as a continuationof my application, rSerial No. 28,235, led May 20, 1948 and issued as .Patentr The great majority of metal lath now` on vthe market is the :5o-called expanded metal and is universally made by simultaneously splitting and bending a sheet of metal. Although the expanded metal lath in use now does a somewhat satisfactory job it has disadvantages which the-selffurring-plaster-reenforcing lwire of the present invention overcomes.

One of the main disadvantages of the expanded metal lath is `that it-is not self-furring. One of the main objects o1- the present invention is to` provide the metal lath which is denitely selffurring. Another disadvantagek of expanded metal lath is that it isnever fully expanded 'and therefore its strength is only equal to that force neces' sary to further expand the lath'. It is another main object of the present invention to provide a self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire formed of sinuously bent wires joined together and fully expanded and therefore its strength is equal to the strength of the wire and is generally about ten times the strength of theI expanded .metal lath. l

The self-furring-plaster-reenforcing 4wire of the present invention rla-lso.lends itself' to being handled easier than the expanded metal lath Y On jobs it is customary to cut packs or bundles n of lath and after the shearing operation to separate the layers of lath. Because of the construction of the expanded metal the different sheets of lath are somewhat intertwined or stuck to one another and asa resultremoval and separa-k tion of the sheets results-.in stretchingof the expanding metal lath out of shape. As a result,

time is wasted in trying to reshape themetalV lath sheets. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet of metal lath which does not stretch When separated and, furthermore, the selffurring-plaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention does not have the tendency to intertwine or stick together when cut in bundlesy as does prior expanded metal lath.

Another disadvantage of expanded metal lath and other lath now in use is that the sheets of lath have margins which are fairly definite and straight and, therefore, when applying the metal lath to a Wall there is a sharp demarcation be- .Y

tween one sheet of metal lath and the nexty which provides a weakness in the lath constructionso that cracking of the plaster often results. `Another object of the present invention is to'over- Fia. 2;

come the above disadvantages by the provisionv of self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire com- -posed'of sinuously bent wires the borders or margins of `which are not straight and sharp but Weave back and forth so that ,the plaster which is spread overthe jointy between the two sheets of `'self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire has no tendency to crack.

`Another objectof this invention is to provide' a self-furring-plaster-reenforcing Wire whichis lighter in Weight and requires less material than prior metal laths.

n Another main object of the present invention is to provide arsimple method by which the selffurring-plas'ter-reenforcing"wire can rbe made.

Another object of this invention is to provide a self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire which hasy a convoluted edge thereby eliminating the selvedged edge which has been herebefore provided on metal and Wire lath; n

With the foregoingand other objects in view, Which will be made manifest inf-the following de 'tailed"description'and' specifically pointed out in the appended claim, reference is had to the 'ac-A companying drawings-'for an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, wherein:r

Figure 1` discloses a sectional View through part of the apparatus for carrying outv the method of the present invention;

Fig. 2 isa partial lsectional.viewv along lines 2--2y i Y Fig. 3 is Fig. 4 is a 'self-furringplaster-reenforcing Wire applied to a; wall; and v Fig. 5 is a View showing another form of selffurring-plaster-Vreenforcing wire appliedv to a wall. l y Fig. 6 is a view showing anotherlformof self-furring-plaster-reenforcing Wire.

Referring to the accompanying v drawings wherein -similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, Figs. l, 2 and 3 depict a set up which could 'be used to carry out the method of the present invention, it being understood that the apparatus is shown'- only in diagrammatic form and not complete since the present invention lies in the'product and method and not in the machine or apparatus-` v There are two main types of self-furringplaster-'reenforcing wire with which the present invention is concerned, onevform being shown in Fig. 4 andthe otherform being shown in Fig. 5. By lvarious adjustmentsk thel apparatus disclosed in Figsfl, 2 and 3 can be yused 'to` form `either v of these .types of self-furring-plaster-reenforcf p yingwire as will presently be explained. The ap- 1 paratus is set up as shown in Figs. 2 and 3v for a sectional v,View along-lines ,3"-3i of" the manufacturing the self -furring-plaster-reenforcing wire as shown in Fig. 4 and the method of manufacturing this Wire will first be explained.

In Fig. 1, there is a housing generally entitled I8 supporting four pairs of gears II, I2, I3 and I4, the gears of each pair rather loosely meshing with one another, the looseness between the teeth being such as to permit wire to be fedV through between the gears of a pair where the wire will have convolutes formed therein.

The pairs of gears labelledY II and I2 and olfset from the pairs of gearsY I3 and I4 so that.

the wires I1 going through the upper pairs of gears can be arranged in side by side relation with the wires I8 going through the lower pairs of gears I3 and I4. formed with a peripheral groove so as to better adapt itself to receive the wire which. it is to form.

InFg. 2, only onev upper wire I1 and one. lower wire I8 can be seen and the invention will be described in connection with these single Wires although it is to be. understood that in each. case two wires are actually being bent. To the right of the gears in Fig. 2 both of the wires I'l can be seen and both of the wires I8 can be seen.

The pairs f gears I1 and I8 are rotated by any suitable means and as soon as wires II and I8 are inserted in the pairs of gears the gears serve to feed the wire along after putting convolutesinit.

Any suitable means such as brushes 28 and 2| may be provided for causing wires II to separate and causing: wires I8 to separate after they have been convoluted as shown in Fig. 2 and after they are separated they move into a welding zone and since initially one wire I1 is below the other wise I1 they will be in overlapping relationship, the same being true of the wires I8. So, when the wires I1 and I8 are fed onto the tracks 23 and 24 and between the guides 25 and 26 they will be in overlapping relationship and any suitable means may be provided for spot welding or joining the overlapped convolutes together. This spot welding or joining operation can be arranged such that only oneY pair of overlapped wires is. welded or the welding may be arranged so that several or more of these overlapped convolutes are weldedv at once. Bending means 28 and 29 are provided and preferably located in the. vicinity of the welding zone but are not used inY manufacturing the self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire, as shown in Fig. 4. Gears 3I'and 32 are. provided on tracks 23 and 24 respectively and serve to feed they welded units of' convolutes wireA along and to position them so that the inner edges thereof are in abutting relationship with con volutesabutting oneV another and another welding zone is provided at approximately theposition of the second set of gears and as the convolutes are positioned in abutting relationship they are welded either singly or in groups.

Although the gears 3| and 32v are provided and will serve to feed andv position the welded units of convoluted wire it may also be desired to provide guides 34 and 35 to insure proper positioning of the welded units IIv and I8, 35 being a trough.

From Fig. 3 it can be seen that the tracks 23 and 24 position Welded unit I1 at an angle with relation to welded unit I8 and the resulting selffurring-plaster-reenforcing Wire is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Of course, the device can be made adjustable by means of arms 38 and.39 soy that Each of the gears may be.

the tracks 23 and 24 may either position the welded units I'I and Is at an angle with relation to one another or on a horizontal plane. In Fig. 2, in the rst welding zone the tracks 23 and 24 position the convoluted wires I1 and I8 in ahorizontal plane and the welded units or wires I1 and I8 are gradually brought into their angular relationship. It is to be understood that the term abutting relationship can include where one convolute slightly overlaps the other or underlaps the kother convolute or the case where the two convolutes are in what is called a technical abutment.

So, a summation of the method of forming the self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire disclosed in Fig. 4 is as follows. Pairs of wires I1 and I8 are fed through sets of gears and convolutes put in the wires, the wires of each pair I'I and I8 being positioned so that convolutes overlap onev another, these convolutes being welded together to, form a unit of welded conr. voluted wire I1 and a unit of convoluted wire I8 and these convoluted units are then positioned in angular relationshipV to one another with the inner edges in abutting relationship which inner edges are then. spot welded or joined together.

The method for forming the sinuously bent wire disclosed in Fig. 5 is similar to the method of forming the sinuously bent wire shown in Fig. 4 with the exception that for the corner section 4I, the tracks 23 and 24 are arranged so that 'the two units 42 and 43 of welded convoluted wire are at right angles to one another. Whereas for the side sections of the self-furringplaster-reenforcing wire disclosed in Fig. 5 the tracks 23 and 24 are arranged in the second welding zone to be in a horizontal position with relation to one another so that the product 45, as shown in Fig. 5, is provided. As before stated, the method of formingr the self-furring-plasterreenforcing wire shown in Fig. 5 is similar to that method for forming the self-furring-plasterreenforcing wire shown in Fig. 4 with the exceptions above noted and also the bending means 28= and 23 which mayy be of any suitable type are operated to bend the margins of the closed ends of the convolutes down at approximately right angles as shown at in Fig. 5.

It willv be understood that although the legs of' the convolutes shown in Fig. 2 are shown as diverging that larger gears can be used so that the legs of each convolute are almost parallel.

It' will be appreciated from Fig. 5 that there can be nol stretching of the self-furring-plasterreenforcingv wire shown therein because the convolutes have their legs practically parallel and so the self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire resists stretching by force equal to the strength of the wire.

The use of the terms convolutes and sinuously bent wire and the like in the claims is to be construed broadly to include the sinuously bent wire, actual convolutes, zigzag wire or wavy wire and the like and the convolutes therein.

The self-furring characteristics of the selffurring-plaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention can be appreciated by reference to Figs. 4 and 5 where in Fig. 4 the zigzag shape of the wire allows it` to-be self-furring while from Fig. 5 it can be seen that the bent legs 50 set the selffurring-plaster-reenforcing wire out from the wall. This self-furring characteristic allows the plaster to get behind and in front of the metal lathor wire and. thereforey willY hold morermly and also the self-furring wire is much easier toV apply.

When sheets of the self-iurring-plaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention are applied to a `wall there will be no sharp dividing line between the different sheets, as can best be appreciated by looking at Fig. 2 wherein it will be seen that the convoluted edge does not present a sharp straight line as does ordinary lath and therefore when two sheets are pressed together there will be no sharp line between the tWo sheets and therefore the plaster Will have much less tendency to crack than in the lath as is presently used. This is, in effect, relieving the stress concentration on the plaster which is provided by straight line contact between sheets of metal lath.

Since the self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention is fully expanded and will not expand any more, as can be appreciated from Fig. 2 in the right hand view of the selffurring-plaster-reenforcing wire, there will be no sagging of this type of metal lath when plaster is applied thereto.

Since the self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention is produced from wire lath or Wire can be continuously and easily made with the least amount of expense and producing a superior product.

Since the self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention has a' convoluted edge there is no necessity for a selvedged edge as is common in some types of metal lath and this convoluted edge does not present cutting edges as does the expanded metal type of lath and so is easier to handle. Also, when the self-furringplaster-reenforcing wire of the present invention is cut the edge presented will be comparatively dull as compared to the sharp knife edges presented when the strip-like expanded metal lath is cut.

Another main type of self-furring-plasterreenforcing wire with which the present invention is concerned is shown in Fig. 6 wherein there are two shingled units 52 and 53 having their outer margins bent at 54 and 55 respectively. The inner margin of shingled unit 52 has an upwardly facing bend 56 provided therein the bend being of such a depth as to make the metal wire self-furring and the inner margin of shingled unit 53 is reversely bent shown at 51 to nestle in the bend 5S and the two shingled units are spot welded to one another at the contact of bends 5B and 51. The shingled units 52 may be arranged at right angles to oneanother when corner pieces of self-furring-plaster-reenforcing wire are being manufactured or may be at any other angle desired when making side sheets of self-furringplaster-reenforcing wire.

It will be understood that the bending means indicated at 28 and 29 in Fig. 2 can be adapted to provide the bends 56 and 5'! so that the selffurring-plaster-reenforcing wire shown in Fig. 6 can easily be made from the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 and that a simple method is thereby provided for manufacturing this type of selffurring-plaster-reenforcing wire.

It will be understood that when the outer margins of the shingled units of any of the forms of self-furring-plaster-reeniorcing wire are bent that they will be able to fit nicely around the outer guides 23 and 24 thereby even better positioning the shingled units during their spot welding or joining operation.

If desired, additional guides 60 and 6l may be provided on the outside of the second Welding zone to assist in positioning the shingled units moving therethrough.

Although in the drawings the margins of the sinuously bent wires are shown as just overlapping, it is contemplated that wire can be produced having the margins of sinuously bent wires overlapping an extent such that eyes are provided by the overlapping convolutes. It is also contemplated that in certain types of the product the inner margins of two sinuously bent wires will be arranged so that the convolutes thereof are in staggered relation to one another and joined together, that is, instead of opposed convolutes being in abutting relationship the convolutes will not be opposed but arranged in staggered relationship. I

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

A self-furring corner lath strip comprising four laterally convoluted wires, each of which is of ygeneral sinuous shape, said Wires being arranged in margin-to-margin relationship, the outermost wires having their outermost marginal portions bent at angles to the planes of their convolutes and having their inner marginal portions in overlapping relationship to the outer marginal portions of the inner wires and secured thereto, the inner wires having their inner marginal portions secured together and being arranged such that the planes of their convolutes are angularly related to each other, the innel` marginal portions of the inner wires being disposed in overlapping and nested relationship and being bent such that the outermost marginal portions protrude outwardly beyond the planes of the convolutes of the inner wires so as to be engageable in the corners formed between two angularly related wall surfaces and to cooperate With the outwardly bent marginal portions of the outer wires in holding the body portions of the wires in spaced relation to the wall surfacesv to enable the strip to be self-furring.

RAYMOND F. STOCKTON.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Hy-Rib by Trussed Concrete Steel Company, 1910, page 17, Detroit, Michigan. 

